


Here With You Now

by spocksandsandals



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Episode: s12e06 Hero or Hate Crime?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 23:38:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15762096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spocksandsandals/pseuds/spocksandsandals
Summary: Mac and Charlie talk after Mac comes out.





	Here With You Now

**Author's Note:**

> this short lil fic was inspired by @findshispride on twitter! i loved the idea of charlie and mac sitting down after the events of hero or hate crime and just letting each other know they care about each other. this is macdennis-compliant but could potentially appeal to charmac shippers as well i guess

To put it simply, Mac was a little overwhelmed. 

His entire life he’d been hiding from this moment, but there he had stood, in front of the gang, admitting to the side of himself that he was terrified of. “No, I think I’m out now,” he had said. As forty years of denial and self-hatred came to a close, he couldn’t help but let out a relieved laugh. As much as he would hate to admit it, it was the bravest thing he’d felt he'd ever done. “Yeah, I’m...I’m gay.”

Mac had taken his bike home to his and Dennis’s nearly-finished apartment, parked it in his room and shut the door behind him as he went back into the living room. He firmly planted himself on the couch, took a giant breath, and rubbed the tops of his thighs with his hands as he tried to comprehend what he’d just done. It was a lot. He probably shouldn’t be alone tonight. He pulled out his phone and found a text from Dennis:

[5:34 pm]  _ Gonna check out a new bar tonight to see if there are any hot chicks there. Don’t wait up for me.  _

Oh, God, and then there was that issue. Dennis. It kind of pissed him off, actually. How long were they supposed to keep pretending for? How long was  _ Dennis  _ supposed to keep pretending for? If Mac could own up to who he was, why couldn’t he? Why was he so scared? Was he Mac good enough for him? Was he一

Yeah, Mac  _ definitely _ shouldn’t be alone tonight. 

The phone had been staticky when Charlie picked up. For chrissakes, it was 2017, why was his phone staticky? 

“Hey buddy...” Mac had hesitated at first, not wanting to sound needy. But fuck it, if he could come out after all these years, he could do anything. “Can we get really high, like the good old days?”

After a pause, Charlie had said, “Your apartment, or Dee’s?”

And so here they were, sat on the sofa staring blankly into the TV together, passing a bowl of chips and their second joint of the night back and forth. The apartment smelled like the most expensive weed Mac could get his hands on and Mac kinda felt like he was floating and sinking at the same time and he stared at the bowl in his lap and thought,  _ Damn, we never did give this back to Dee _ . Mac figured Charlie was asleep because he usually passed out before they finished a second joint anyway. “Dennis, fuckin’ coward,” Mac mumbled as he traced the rim of the bowl with his finger. 

Charlie perked up and turned his head towards Mac. “What are you talkin’ about, man?” he said slowly. 

Mac took another deep breath. He turned towards Charlie and said, “Dennis is a fuckin’ coward. You know, this isn’t the first time he’s skipped out on me when things got too real.”

Charlie turned back towards the TV, taking a second to think. After a few seconds, he said, “Yeah, you’re right.” Mac’s eyes fell to his lap. 

Carefully, Mac said, “I think I’m in love with him.” 

Charlie tilted his head back and looked towards Mac, a smile creeping onto his face. “Are you kidding me, dude?” he said teasingly. “You ‘think’ you’re in love with him?” 

Mac looked suddenly offended. “Wh一”

“You guys have been  _ obsessed _ with each other since you were 15.”

The ‘each other’ stung a little bit.

“It’s weird being out,” Mac said, looking away. “It’s like, this is the one thing I’ve been hiding my entire life.”

“The one thing?” Charlie lazily repeated.

“I mean, I don’t know. I’ve lived my whole life by these rules I made for myself.” Mac sighed. “And then I realized that they kinda suck. And like, we’re getting old, man. What’s the fucking point if I’m miserable?”

“That’s...yeah. That’s smart, man.” After a long pause, Charlie said, “Listen, dude, whatever happens in life, I’ve been with you before, and I’m here with you now, and I’ll be with you in the future. Straight, gay, plowing Dennis, whatever. I’m always gonna be your best friend, y’know?”

“Yeah, man, I know.” Mac looked at him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, Charlie.”

Charlie smiled and patted Mac’s hand. He picked up the TV remote and gave it to Mac, and after several failed attempts to find a better show to watch, Mac was brave for the final time that day.

“...Do you wanna watch Fight Club?”

Charlie laughed. “I’m fine with whatever the hell you wanna do, bro. Just pass me the joint.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! if there were any mistakes that's because i'm super baked sorry :/ anyway go follow my twitter @bxdnew :-) and as always kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!!!


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